It is common practice in highway-railroad grade crossing warning systems for control circuitry to consist of an arrangement of electromagnetic relays operating on 12 volts DC nominal, or electronic processor equivalent inputs and outputs (I/O) operating on the same voltage. The control circuitry, which flashes the lights and operates the gates if so equipped, receives its input from train detection circuit outputs. The control and train detection circuitry operate on closed circuit fail-safe design principles. An electrical interruption, (i.e., short, or open) in the circuitry results in activation of the warning devices, i.e., the flashing lights activate and the gates descend.
Current industry practice for designing highway-rail grade crossing applications using industry standard electronic train detection equipment, such as the Safetran Systems Corporation GCP 3000 Grade Crossing Predictor or the GE Transportation Systems Harmon Crossing Processor HXP-3, is to identify individually all of the parameter settings required by the electronic equipment at the crossing. These devices provide an output that signals solid-state electronic equipment, such as Safetran Systems Corporation SSCC-III crossing controller or vital signaling relays to provide appropriate warning to the road users, typically by means of flashing lights, barrier gates and bells. Electronic crossing controllers also require a set of programming parameters, which are currently specified individually. A solid-state recording device, such as the Safetran Systems Corporation SEAR-II or the GE Transportation Systems HAWK, will typically monitor the train detection and the crossing control functions. These recording devices also require a set of programming parameters, which are specified individually.
With all of the individual parameters for each of these systems, even simple crossings can have in excess of 100 parameters that need to be programmed before the system is operational. More complex crossings can have well in excess of 500 parameters. Parameters may include items such as the number of tracks at a specific crossing location, whether the controller operates in a uni-directional or bi-directional mode, whether the controller communicates with adjacent controllers as well as specific information for each approach and island circuit. This large number of parameters places a large burden on the crossing designer to make sure every parameter is correct. Similarly, a large burden is placed on the person programming the units in terms of the time required and making sure that each system is programmed correctly. Additionally, such systems typically undergo some form of repair and/or maintenance at a future time that will require some or all of the programming parameters to be reentered.
A general object of the present invention is to provide a simplified means of designing applications for a controller for a highway-rail grade crossing.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a plurality of application templates for programming each parameter of a controller for most highway-rail grade crossing configurations.
A further object of the present invention is to reduce programming time and increase programming accuracy by utilizing template default parameters.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide flexibility in programming of a controller as the field conditions change or evolve.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide quicker and more accurate technical support with template programming.